This time LAPD didn’t blow up a South L.A. neighborhood after seizing tons of fireworks
The Los Angeles Police Department seized 38,000 pounds of illegal fireworks Wednesday from a warehouse in South Los Angeles — and this time it didn’t blow up a neighborhood.
The large fireworks seizure and updated policy comes after the LAPD blew up a South L.A. neighborhood in June 2021 while trying to detonate a cache of fireworks, injuring 17 people, damaging 35 properties and displacing dozens of residents in the process.
The Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Marshals were conducting a routine inspection of commercial buildings at about 3 p.m. Wednesday in the 900 block of East 61st Street in Florence, according to an LAPD news release.
The marshals saw a large number of fireworks in a storage room and alerted the LAPD, which responded and notified the department’s bomb squad.
Investigators from the bomb squad and Major Crimes Division seized the 38,000 pounds of “commercial-grade” fireworks, according to the LAPD.
After interviewing people in the building, officers arrested Lorenzo Ponce, 64, and Diego Ponce, 35, both Los Angeles residents, for possession of more than 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks.
L.A. officials told families displaced by the botched 2021 fireworks detonation they have to move out by March 31, leaving some worried about shelter.
The fireworks were hauled away by big rigs and box trucks because detonation is required off-site per updated LAPD policy, KCBS-TV Channel 2 News reported.
“Our officers are carefully removing and preparing these dangerous materials for transport, remaining committed to keeping our community members and local businesses safe,” the LAPD social media post read on Twitter.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
